Picker lap analyzer



Nov. 20, 1956 F. P. STROTHER 2,770,843

PICKER LAP ANALYZER Filed Jan'. 26, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR: FRED. SrRo THEE.

ATTORNEY Nov. 20, 1956 F. P. STROTHER PICKER LAP ANALYZER 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 26, 1952 INVENTOR:

FRED 2 S720 THEE.

ATTORNEY Nov. 20, 1956 F. P. STROTHER 2,770,843

PICKER LAP ANALZER Filed Jan. 26, 1952 s Sheets-Sheet 4 ll "1 J g fl FRED P $23522 ATTORNEY Nov. 20, 1956 F. P. STROTHER PICKER LAP ANALYZER Filed Jan. 26, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 5' ElflTR/CALL Y CONTROLLED VAR/ABLE SPEED osv/cz El g=14 INVENTOR: l-Tesp P. Sreo-rnee.

BY ww ATTORNEY United States Patent O i PICKER LAP ANALYZER Fred P. Strother, West Point, Ga., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Deering Milliken Research Corporation, near Pendleton, S. C., a corporation of Delaware Application January 26, 1952, Serial No. 268,435

1 Claim. (CI. 1970) The invention relates to analyzers and is directed more particularly to an analyzer for determining the density of the lap or web issuing from a picker machine.

Cotton as it is received by the mill from a cotton gin is in the form of a bale or matted mass of fibers with which are mixed dirt, sticks, pod fragments, broken seeds and the like. This foreign material must be removed before the cotton can be formed into yarn; This is accomplished by means of a cleaning machine, known as a picker.

Bale cotton is fed into one end of the picker where it is subjected to the action of one or more beaters which are revolved at high speed, from 1000-1500 R. P. M., the beating action serving to clean the fibers of undesired material. Emerging from the other end is a continuous web of unoriented, loosely tangled fibers wound in cylindrical fashion about a lap pin, which web is commonly called picker lap. This lap is several feet in width and may vary in thickness from one-fourth inch to about one and one-half inches.

In addition to variations in thickness, the lap often varies considerably in uniformity or density, either spaced across the width thereof or along its length. For example, humps or mounds may occur, the thickness may increase from one edge to the other or thick andthin places may be dispersed lengthwise of the lap.

Manifestly, the uniformity of the finished roving or yarn is governed largely by the uniformity of the picker lap, and therefore an obvious desideratum is the production of lap of maximum uniformity.

Generally, determinations of uniformity have heretofore been limited to the weighing of one-yard samples taken from a 50-yard roll. Where these samples are taken from the center of the roll this procedure destroys the continuity of the lap and, thus, its usefulness in later operations for the reason that a discontinuous lap cannot be carded properly and must be returned to the opening or picking room for reprocessing.

It should be readily apparent that such procedure will in no .way yield an indication of the true average density of the lap.

At least one attempt has been made to solve this problem by passing the lap between a source of light and an array of light sensitive elements, such as photoelectric cells, the signal from such elements being fed to a suitable recording mechanism. While this mechanism is quite satisfactory in indicating the average lap density, it must be used apart from a conventional picker since there is no suitable location in a conventional picker for mounting such equipment on both sides of the lap. Consequently, the wound lap must be removed from the picker, fed through the analyzer and rewound all at the expense of an additional handling operation.

It is, therefore, the object of this invention to provide an analyzer for picker machines which will record the density of lap produced by such machines without destroying the continuity of the lap.

2,770,843 Patented Nov. 20, 1956 ice A further object of this invention is to provide an analyzer which can be mounted on conventional picker machines.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide a modification of the analyzer which in addition to analyzing the lap is so associated with the picker as to be capable of varying the operation of the machine in order to produce a more uniform lap.

Heretofore, the uniformity of lap emerging from a picker machine has been controlled by means of an evener or piano motion disposed adjacent the feed rolls to the final beater section of the picker. The evener motion comprises an even number, generally about 16, of pedals pivoted on a stationary rod arranged transversely of the lap. One end of each of these pedals presses upwardly against the lap as it passes beneath an evener roll; the other ends are linked together through a compound saddle or whifiie tree linkage or equalizer. The movement of the ultimate link of the compound linkage controls the position of the belt on a cone drive, which drives the feed rolls. Thus, it will be seen that the movement of the pedals is averaged by the compound linkage, the speed of the feed rolls to the final beater section being either increased or decreased in response to the movement of the ultimate link of the compound linkage.

Manifestly, this design is subject to many defects. By' reason of the complex linkage, a considerable interval of time elapses between the movement of the pedal in response to a deviation in uniformity of the lap and the change in speed of the feed roll to compensate for this the linkage is such as to average the movements of the individual pedals so that, upon the movement of one of the pedals a distance of one inch, for example, the ultimate link is moved only one-sixteenth of an inch, which ultimate movement is transmitted to the cone drive unit to vary the speed of the feed rolls, Obviously, then, a considerable movement of the pedals is required in order to cause any substantial change in the speed of the feed rolls. I

It is, therefore, the purpose of the modification of the present invention to provide an evener motion which is not subject to the defects of prior art motions, which is simpler and more efiicient and which is more highly responsive to variations in the uniformity of the picker lap.

Other and further objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the detailed description taken in connection with the drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation in diagrammatic form of a along line 5-5 in Figure 1, showing a modification ofmy invention;

Figure 6 is a top plan view of Figure 5 with the variable speed control device added;

Figure 7 is a vertical section along line 7-7 in Figure 5, showing the control means for the variable speed device;

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 2, showing a modi- I fied form of the preferred embodiment of my invention;

Figure 9 is a top plan view of Figure 8;

Figure 10 is a vertical section along line 10--10 in Figure 8;

Figure 11 is a vertical section along line 1111 in Figure 8;

Figure 12 is a schematic wiring diagram of the form of the invention shown in Figures 8-11.

Figure 13 is an enlarged sectional view along line 13-13 of Figure and Figure 14 is a schematic wiring diagram for the form of the invention shown in Figure 6.

In accordance with this invention a plurality of feeler members each having a roller at one end thereof are spaced transversely of the picker machine, being biased so that the rollers bear against the lap at a point at which it is supported by a cylindrical roll. The free ends of the feeler members are coupled together in serial fashion, either by mechanical or electrical means, the coupling being so designed as to produce an output which is the algebraic sum of the movements of the individual feeler members. This output is transmitted to an indicator, a recording device or it may be used to actuate means driving the feed rollers to the beater section of the picker so as to vary the speed of these rolls to deliver a uniform amount of cotton to such beater section.

Referring now to the drawings, Figure 1 shows in diagrammatic form the intermediate feeder, finisher beater, condensing, calendering and lap forming sections of a picker. The cotton having previously been subject to a partial opening and cleaning action by conventional means, not shown, is delivered by the intermediate feeder section, generally designated as 11, to the finisher beater section 12 where further opening and cleaning occurs, being collected by the condenser section 13 and formed into a web or lap. The lap is then delivered to a series of calendering rolls vertically arranged with adjacent rolls in contacting relationship, being fed between rolls 14 and 15 and around the front side of roll 15, then between rolls 15 and 16, around the back side of roll 16 and finally between rolls 16 and 1-7, from whence it is advanced to the lapping section where it is wound about a lap pin 18. The peripheral speed at which the three top rolls 14-16 are driven, the driving means being not shown, is substantially the same, the lower roll, however, having a higher speed.

Spanning the machine at a point spaced forwardly of the calendering section is a longitudinal bar member 21 having its ends fixed to the vertical walls of the picker, the member 21 pivotally supporting a plurality of feeler units,.generally designated as 23. As is best seen in Figure 4, each of the units 23 comprises an arm 25 having a yoke 27 at one end thereof, a roller 29 being journaled in the yoke. At the other end of the arm 25 is provided a sheave 31 equipped with self-aligning bearings 33, best seen in Figure 4. By means of a spring 35, each of the rollers 29 is biased into engagement with the lap as it passes around roll 15.

The arms 25 are disposed so as to extend upwardly from the rollers in a generally vertical direction, the terminal portion of the arms and the sheaves associated therewith projecting somewhat above the walls of the picker. Mounted on the top casing of the picker in substantial horizontal alignment with the movable sheaves, equidistant therefrom and in staggered relationship therewith are a corresponding plurality of sheaves 37 also equipped with self-aligning bearings in which fixed pins 39 are journaled. The fixed sheaves 37 and the movable sheaves 31 are coupled together in serial fashion by a flexible cable or rope 41 fixed at one end and passing around successive movable and fixed .pins in a zig-zag course. The free end of the cable 41 is connected to an indicator 43. It will thus be seen that the rollers 29 will be displaced in accordance with the thickness of the lap with a corresponding displacement in angular position of the arms 25 and sheaves 31. In order to accommodate these displacements the cable 41 will shift in an amount which is twice the algebraic sum of the displacements, this movement being transmitted to the indicator, which registers a corresponding value.

It is also contemplated that electrical means he utilized in coupling the feeler units together instead of mechanical means. For this purpose, as seen in Figures 8-12, the primaries 51 of a series of transformers are connected in parallel across suitable alternating supply lines L1 and L2 having the usual switch S. The resistors 55 of a plurality of pairs of variable resistances (R1, R2; R3, R4; R5, R6; and R7, R8) are connected in parallel with the secondaries 53 of the transformers, two resistors being associated with each secondary. Each of the sliding contacts 57 of the pairs of variable resistances are connected in series with one sliding contact of another pair of resistances by suitable conductors. That is to say, contact 57b of resistance R2 is connected in series with contact 570 of resistance R3 by conductor 58, and contact 57d of resistance R4 with contact 570 of resistance R5 by conductor 59, and contact 577 of resistance R6 with contact 57g of resistance R7 by conductor 60, an A. C. voltmeter 61, which has been calibrated to indicate thickness of the lap being connected in series between any two of the contacts, for example, 5711 and 57a, connected by conductor 62. The move ment of each contact 57 is restricted to one half the length of the resistor by fixed pins 63, the contacts of each associated pair of resistances (R1 and R2, R3 and R4, et cetera) sliding on opposite ends of their corre sponding resistors. The purpose of this arrangement is to give only one zero point. It is obvious that voltmeter 61 will register zero whenever the resistors are balanced, i. e., in alignment, which can occur at only one position, when the contacts are midway of the resistors. At any other position, the network is unbalanced and a voltage will exist across the voltmeter.

The sliding contacts 57 must, of course, be attached to the ends of arms 25 and for this purpose I employ links 64 connecting contacts 57 and the free ends of arms 25a and 25b, as best seen in Figure 12. Since every other contact must move in a direction opposite to that of the adjacent slides, alternate feeler arms 25a with their associated rollers are arranged as class 3 levers (Figure 11), the remainder (arms 25/] with their associated rollers) being class 1 levers (Figure 10).

It is, therefore, apparent that as the lap is formed by the picker, my analyzer senses its thickness, which in formation is transmitted to the indicator where it can be observed by an operator. In addition, by utilizing the output of the coupling means to actuate a recording instrument, a continuous record of the lap thickness can be obtained.

I now turn to a description of the modified form of my invention, also shown in Figure l, but in association with the finisher beater section 12 rather than the calendering section. The cotton is delivered by gravity to feed apron 70, a longitudinal horizontal inlet conveyer. As the apron 70 advances, the cotton carried by it passes beneath a compression roll 72 which compresses the cotton into a loosely mated sheet or web. Adjacent the end of feed apron 70 is a fluted delivery or enticing roll 73 which delivers the cotton to the evener motion, generally designated as 74. After passing through the evener moevener roll, feelers, coupling between the feelers and a control for the feed roll drive.

The evener roll 80 is journaled in the walls of the picker, being fixed against all movement except rotation. Mounted beneath the evener roll 80 for pivotable movement about a fured horizontal member 82 are an even number of feeler units 81, which units are biased upwardly by means of springs 85 so that the rollers 84 engage the under surface of evener roll 80 in the absence of the lap. Carried by the free end of each arm 83 and freely rotatable thereabout is a sheave 86, provided with self-aligning bearings.

In substantial vertical alignment with the movable sheaves 86 and in staggered relationship therewith are fixed sheaves 87 also provided with self-aligning bearings. The fixed sheaves 87 and the movable sheaves 86 are coupled together in serial fashion by means of a flexible rope or cable 88, which is fixed at one end and passes over and around each of the sheaves in zigzag manner, being connected at its free end to an indicator 90. The indicator 90 is provided with the usual dial face and movable pointer or hand which is moved in response to the movement of the cable.

Where it is desired to control by my new evener motion the speed at which the feed rolls are driven, the indicator is mechanically coupled to the movable tap 91 of a variable resistance 92, shown in Figures 7 and 14, which is connected in series with an electrical control unit of a variable speed device 93 coupling the feed rolls and the picker drive. Thus, when the feelers sense thin places in the lap, the rate of rotation of the feed rolls is increased in order to supply a greater amount of cotton to the beater section. In similar fashion, when the lap is too thick, the rolls are slowed down so that a smaller amount of cotton is supplied. It will, thus, be seen that the supply of cotton to the final beater section is kept constant so that a uniform lap will be produced.

Where the feed rolls are driven by a separate motor, it should be obvious that my improved evener motion could be made to control that motor, varying its speed in response to the movements of the feeler units.

Having thus described the preferred embodiments of my invention, that which is claimed is:

In combination with a picker machine including lap moving rolls cooperating to wind the lap at the exit of said machine, and a series of smooth calender rolls arranged in a vertical plane for rolling contact between adjacent rolls, said calender rolls being mounted adjacent said lap moving rolls and functioning to deliver calendered lap to said lap moving rolls, a plurality of pivotally mounted, yoked arms, a plurality of rollers journaled in the yokes carried by said arms adjacent one of said smooth rolls, said rollers being adapted to contact the lap on the side opposite to that contacted by said one smooth roll, spring means adapted to bias said rollers into contact with said lap, whereby said lap is pressed between one smooth roll and said rollers, a plurality of rotatable sheaves carried on the ends of said arms opposed to said yokes, a row of rotatable sheaves fixedly mounted on said picker machine equidistant from and in horizontal alignment with said sheaves carried by said arms, said fixedly mounted sheaves being in staggered relationship with the sheaves carried by said arms, a flexible member, secured at one end to said picker machine passed from one end of said row to the other successively about said fixedly mounted sheaves and the sheaves carried by said arms thereby coupling said sheaves in a zig-zag manner, and means responsive to movement of the free end of said flexible member to thereby indicate the algebraic sum of the movement of said sheaves carried by said arms.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 631,795 James Aug. 29, 1899 686,971 James Nov. 19, 1901 1,858,304 McLaughlin May 17, 1932 2,058,518 Schuster Oct. 27, 1936 2,141,003 King et al. Dec. 20, 1938 2,221,516 Hathaway Nov. 12, 1940 2,466,615 Rusca et al. Apr. 5, 1949 2,642,664 Wilson et al June 23, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 163,692 Great Britain Feb. 16, 1922 575,627 Germany May 3, 1933 702,310 France Jan. 20, 1931 

